Daniel Cohen
f2s.com> wrote:
> David Empson wrote:
>
>> Daniel Cohen
f2s.com> wrote:
>> >>> I am wondering if this is an issue with the ISP, or if (which seems more
>>> likely) it is a problem with her wifi connection, and if so what can be
>>> done.
>>
>> I agree that an intermittent problem is most likely to be some kind of
>> Aiport problem.
>>
>> Are you able to try connecting her laptop via Ethernet? If that works
>> reliably, it should rule out problems with the ISP or similar.
>>
>> Are other computers able to use your Airport network reliably?
>>
>> Is her laptop able to use other Airport networks reliably?
>
> Unfortunately, none of these that can be tried conveniently.
To simplify the question: has she _ever_ successfully connected her
computer to a wireless network?
The evidence so far suggests that her PowerBook's Airport hardware is
faulty in some way. It might be as simple as the antenna not being
plugged in (inside the computer).
If her Airport has worked fine elsewhere (recently) then it may be an
environmental issue such as interference with your Airport network.
> I suppose I could switch my iMac from ethernet to airport. But it would
> still be within a couple of feet of the base station, so unless it worked
> really badly it wouldn't be helpful in diagnosing. I couldn't use ethernet
> without bringing the laptop to within a couple of feet. And no other
> abailable networks (my neighbour's is visible but password protected).
It is definitely worth trying your iMac's Airport connection (unplug the
Ethernet cable to be certain you are using Airport).
If your iMac works fine, and it has a good signal strength, then the
problem is likely to be specific to your friend's laptop, and is not the
fault of your Airport base station or environmental issues like
interference.
> Hope I don't sound dismissive of your earlier suggestions. It's a matter
> of balancing the inconvenience of the problem with the inconvenience of
> various possible tests. This suggestion of checking signal strength,
> which I did not know about, seems one I need to try, as it can be done
> without any hassle.
>
> I'm just checking the statistics. the MAC address beginning with
> 00:11:24 seems to be that of the Airport card, and shows signal and
> noise both around -90, with rate (connected but not doing anything) of
> 5.
00:11:24 is one of the prefixes assigned to Apple, so that could be her
laptop. I assume you confirmed this on her computer?
You can see the Airport ID in 10.4 by going into System Preferences >
Network and double-clicking on the Airport network inteface. It is shown
on the Airport tab. (On 10.5, you have to click the "Advanced" button to
get to the same page of information.)
You can also see the Airport ID in System Profiler, under the Network
heading, or by using Network Utility's Info tab and selecting interface
"en1".
The numbers showing signal and noise both around -90 means that the base
station is getting almost no connection to that computer, due to
extremely low signal strength: the "signal" figure should be between -50
and -80, but "noise" is typically around -90 in my experience. The
"rate" of 5 (megabits per second) is also extremely low, probably the
best that can be achieved given the weak signal.
This is very likely to be a problem with interference from an outside
source, or a fault with the Airport card or antenna in either your base
station or her laptop.
Testing the Airport network with your iMac will narrow down the problem.
For a good signal, your Airport base station should be reporting a
figure around the -60 mark (more negative means weaker signal).
If your iMac is working fine with Airport then the problem is specific
to her laptop.
Let's get that question answered before trying to narrow it further.
--
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
